Intelligent Observation And Identification Database System

ABSTRACT

An intelligent video/audio observation and identification database system may define a security zone or group of zones. The system may identify vehicles and individuals entering or exiting the zone through image recognition of the vehicle or individual as compared to prerecorded information stored in a database. The system may alert security personnel as to warrants or other information discovered pertaining to the recognized vehicle or individual resulting from a database search. The system may compare images of a suspect vehicle, such as an undercarriage image, to standard vehicle images stored in the database and alert security personnel as to potential vehicle overloading or foreign objects detected, such as potential bombs. The system may track individuals or vehicles within a zone or between zones. The system may further learn the standard times and locations of vehicles or individuals tracked by the system and alert security personnel upon deviation from standard activity.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a Continuation application from U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 13/041,593 filed Mar. 7, 2011 issued as U.S. Pat.No. 8,188,861 on May 29, 2012, the disclosure of which is expresslyincorporated by reference herein. This application is also aContinuation application from U.S. patent application Ser. No.12/254,587, filed Oct. 20, 2008 issued as U.S. Pat. No. 7,902,978; whichis a Continuation application from U.S. patent application Ser. No.10/646,853, filed Aug. 22, 2003, issued as U.S. Pat. No. 7,439,847;which claims priority from U.S. Provisional Applications 60/405,592 and60/405,379, both filed Aug. 23, 2002 the contents of which are herebyincorporated by reference in their entireties.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In the past law enforcement officers, surveillance, or securitypersonnel attempting to identify vehicles and/or occupants of vehicleshave observed a license plate without the use of a camera or an opticalinput device other than eyeglasses. An officer or security guard wasthereby required to be sufficiently close to a vehicle to observe thelicense plate. The presence of the officer was thereby often revealed tothe occupant of the vehicle under investigation. The failure to useoptical input devices has slowed down or delayed the timing for vehicleidentification as well as the identification of the vehicle owner andmake or model for the vehicle. In addition the communication ofinformation to an officer or guard as to the criminal history of thelikely driver or registered owner of the vehicle was also delayed.

In the past upon the identification of a license plate an officerfrequently manually entered the license plate number into a keypad toinitiate access to a database which distracted the officer's attentionfrom the vehicle. An officer was thereby less likely to observe erraticor otherwise suspicious driving characteristics for the vehicle. Thesafety to the officer and/or to other individuals was thereby reduced.It is desirable to identify the ownership of a vehicle, in that, rentalvehicles may have a higher probability of including an explosive device.

In the past following entry of a license plate number into a keypad, acommunication link was required to access a database to retrieve desiredinformation such as the make, model, registration, listed owner, statusof license tabs, insurance status, outstanding violations, individualidentification, outstanding warrants, or other information. The datalink permitted the display of the retrieved information onto a screenmounted for observation by an officer or guard. The officer or guard wasthen required to view the screen to become advised of the desiredinformation, again distracting the officer from a vehicle or occupantunder investigation. No processor was known to intelligently and/orautomatically evaluate or filter information retrieved from a databasein real time, to identify a potentially dangerous condition or anecessity to implement a more detailed inquiry related to a vehicle. Nowarning signal was known to automatically warn an officer as to theexistence of a potentially dangerous situation or a condition requiringfurther investigation.

Some squad vehicles, checkpoints, and/or guard stations includephotographic equipment such as cameras and/or video recorders to assistin the observation of vehicles or license plates for vehicles. Generallythis type of optical equipment is expensive and not available for allpolice or emergency vehicles or restricted access locations. In additionthe use of cameras, video equipment, or optical visual assist devicescontinues to require an officer or guard to manually enter a licenseplate number into a keypad duplicating the disadvantages as identifiedabove. A need therefore exists for a device and method to intelligentlyand automatically observe a license plate for conversion into a digitalformat for comparison in real time to a database to identify informationrelated to the vehicle and/or the vehicle occupant.

Following the retrieval of information from a database, an officer,security, or surveillance personnel normally cleared the informationfrom a vehicle display. In the past, generally no record of any accessor prior investigation was made or stored for future reference by thelaw, security, or surveillance personnel and/or officers. In the past,it has not been known to make an environmentally specific database for asecurity zone of vehicles to identify the number and identity of eachvehicle within the security zone which may include, but is notnecessarily limited to, a garage, hospital, school, and/or an airportparking lot any particular point in time.

No system was known which identified vehicle license plates andvehicles, created a database, and tracked the vehicles within a specificsecurity zone.

No system has also been known which enables an operator to search orscreen a specifically accumulated database for a security zone forvehicles falling within a particular sub-class or group forimplementation of a more detailed investigation by a security,surveillance, or law enforcement officer. In addition, no system isknown which enables a security, surveillance, or law enforcement officerto either select one of many pre-programmed inquiries based uponprofiles, searches, or screening functions in real time to implement aspecific customized inquiry of the accumulated database to identify aspecific target group of vehicles to receive further investigation.

In the past mirrors as mounted on an elongated handle or rollingmechanism have been used for positioning under a vehicle to enableinspection of the undercarriage of a vehicle. Generally the use ofmirrors for inspection of the undercarriage of a vehicle have failed toprovide the opportunity for a complete and detailed inspection of thevehicle. Alternatively individuals have placed themselves on hands andknees to attempt to look under a vehicle to perform an inspection toidentify the presence of explosive devices.

As is known terrorists have secreted explosive devices within theundercarriage of a vehicle to perform a terrorist attack. In addition,in the past, a terrorist has attempted to hide the existence of anexplosive or bomb under a cover as attached to the undercarriage of avehicle. The existence of a cover alters the appearance of anundercarriage as compared to the appearance of a standard undercarriagefor an identical vehicle. No intelligent and automatic method ofrecognizing the existence of an explosive, or the alteration of anundercarriage to hide an explosive, is known to detect the existence ofan attempted terrorist attack.

Further, no device has been known to identify and track a person withina security zone absent affirmative actions by the person, or use of atrackable device by the person, such as a personalized keycard.

All U.S. patents and applications and all other published documentsmentioned anywhere in this application are incorporated herein byreference in their entirety.

Without limiting the scope of the invention a brief description of someof the claimed embodiments of the invention are set forth below.Additional details of the described embodiments of the invention and/oradditional embodiments of the invention may be found in the DetailedDescription of the Invention below.

A brief abstract of the technical disclosure in the specification isprovided as well, only for the purposes of complying with 37 C.F.R.1.72. The abstract is not intended to be used for interpreting the scopeof the claims.

BRIEF OR GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The Intelligent Observation and Identification Database Alert Systemgenerally identifies, recognizes and provides real time informationconcerning a vehicle, group of vehicles, person or group of personsunder investigation, where a processor screens a database to identifyand name persons or vehicles to receive the highest priority ofinvestigation. Vehicle information is immediately retrieved upon theactivation of a camera, digital camera, video or audio recording device,or optically assisted recognition device as directed to a vehiclelicense plate. Real time information is thereby provided to an officerto assist in law enforcement or surveillance activities.

In one embodiment the present invention provides for the recognition ofpatterns within an accumulated continuously evolving database to accessand initiate an investigation profile for vehicles located within, oradjacent to a security zone, where a lower priority category of vehiclesare assigned based upon regular and recurring patterns of presence ofthe vehicle within a security zone.

In one embodiment the present invention provides for the identificationand searching of vehicle license plates to identify and compare recordedoptical images against previously stored data representative of themake, model, type, and description of the vehicle to verify the accuracyof the observed images as compared to the pre-stored data.

In one embodiment the present invention tracks entry and exit times ofvehicles and/or persons entering and exiting a predetermined zone, andfor entry of appropriate tracking information into a continuouslyevolving database.

In one embodiment the present invention learns over a period of time thetypical entry and exit times of persons and/or vehicles and, underpredetermined circumstances, alert security personnel as to changes in aroutine.

These and other embodiments which characterize the invention are pointedout with particularity in the claims annexed hereto and forming a parthereof. However, for a better understanding of the invention and itsadvantages, reference should be made to the drawings which form afurther part hereof, and to the accompanying descriptive matter, inwhich there are illustrated and described various embodiments of theinvention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING(S)

A detailed description of the invention is hereafter described withspecific reference being made to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a schematic view of an intelligent video/audio observationand identification database system according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 depicts an actual installation of an intelligent video/audioobservation and identification database system according to the presentinvention.

FIG. 2A depicts an embodiment of the intelligent video/audio observationand identification database system according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 depicts a mobile intelligent observation and identificationdatabase system according to the present invention.

FIGS. 4 and 4A depict a comparison of vehicle undercarriage images.

FIG. 5 depicts a mobile vehicle undercarriage observation andidentification database system.

FIGS. 6 and 6A depict a comparison of vehicle side profiles.

FIG. 7 depicts a mobile intelligent observation and identificationdatabase system according to the present invention.

FIG. 8 depicts an environmental view of a room equipped with anintelligent observation and identification database system according tothe present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

While this invention may be embodied in many different forms, there aredescribed in detail herein specific embodiments of the invention. Thisdescription is an exemplification of the principles of the invention andis not intended to limit the invention to the particular embodimentsillustrated.

For the purposes of this disclosure, like reference numerals in thefigures shall refer to like features unless otherwise indicated.

In general, the intelligent video/audio observation and identificationdatabase system is utilized within a particular defined security zone orzones to track the entry, exit and location of vehicles and individuals,and to identify acceptable profile parameters for the vehicles withinthe security zone. The intelligent system is utilized to flagdiscrepancies related to information accessible and processed from astored and accumulated continuously evolving database of information inorder to warn security, surveillance, and/or law enforcement officers asto the existence of a condition warranting further investigation tominimize risk of danger, such as illegal activity or terrorist attacks.

The intelligent video/audio observation and identification databasesystem will search and/or screen all vehicles entering into a securityzone to identify information such as the license plate number, make,model, and type of vehicle along with a facial recognition optical imageof vehicle occupants, the recording of the time, date, and place ofentry into the secured zone and exit from the secured zone, and personalinformation concerning driver's license numbers, criminal records,driving records, and/or a comparison of a photographic image from adriver's license compared to the optical image obtained by the facialrecognition camera.

The accumulation and storage of the information of the type identifiedabove will be stored within particular continuously updated and evolvingfiles to create a database for future reference to enable lawenforcement, surveillance, and/or security officers to implement profilesearches to identify classes of vehicles warranting furtherinvestigation to minimize risk of terrorist attacks. For instance, on agiven day, a law enforcement, surveillance, and/or security officercould access the accumulated database to inquire as to the identity andlocation of all vehicles within a security zone which had been drivenand/or occupied by individuals having a particular nationality and/orethnic background. The processor associated with the intelligentvideo/audio observation and identification database system will thensearch the available database and identify all vehicles which fallwithin the class of vehicles under investigation. The processorassociated with the intelligent video/audio observation andidentification database system will then advise the law enforcement,surveillance, or security officers as to the location of each vehicleunder investigation. The intelligent video/audio observation andidentification database system may also be utilized in recognition ofpedestrians.

The tracking of vehicles within the security zone is accomplishedthrough the use of a plurality of optical devices which may be cameras,digital cameras, and/or other types of recording devices which areeither mounted in a static and/or active position for recording of aspecific field adjacent to, or within, the security zone. Each of thedevices are preferably linked to a continuously evolving database torecord information which may be processed and retrieved for use bysecurity personnel. It is anticipated that a sufficient number ofoptical devices will be utilized such that the observation fields foreach individual optical device overlap to provide continuous observationof all desired areas within the security zone.

Referring to FIG. 1, the intelligent observation and identificationdatabase system 10 generally comprises an optical input device 12, suchas a camera, a computer 22, including a processor, a database 30, whichmay be an evolving database, which may be located inside the computer22, and an output device 40, such as a monitor.

The system 10 may also include other input devices 18, such asfingerprint scanners, palm scanners, microphones, retinal scanners, andthe like. The various other input devices 18 and optical input devices12 may be classified into zones 50. The computer 22 thus may receiveinput from a plurality of zones 50. Further, each zone 50 may includeits own computer 22 and evolving database 30. Each database 30 maycontain predetermined information, such as license plate registrationdate, vehicle history and warrant data, standard images and descriptionsof vehicles including front, side and rear profile and undercarriageimages, vehicle specifications such as height, width, length, totalunloaded weight, and any other available vehicle data, warrant data withrespect to persons, personal identification information such as facialimages and profile images of persons, fingerprint images, palm printimages, voice samples and the like. Each evolving database 30 is alsocapable of being updated according to data saved by the system.Optionally, a plurality of computers 22 in a plurality of zones 50 maybe in communication with each other, and also may be in communicationwith a mainframe computer 60 or server, which may have a mainframedatabase 62. When a number of zones 50 are linked to a mainframecomputer 60, each zone 50 could alternatively be classified as asub-zone, with the system 10 zone being the entire perimeter of allcombined sub-zones.

An overview of the method utilized with the intelligent audio/visualobservation and identification database system 10 initiates with theidentification of a security zone 50. Next, individuals identify thepositioning of optical assist and/or recording devices 12 to establishfields of observation to completely enclose the identified security zone50. Individuals next place the optical input devices 12 in accordancewith the identified desired positions for the optical input devices 12to observe the security zone 50.

The optical input devices 12 are next connected to a network andcomputer 22 which may be centrally located within a security zone 50.Software is preferably loaded onto the computer 22 for creation ofindividual files representative of vehicles 70 and/or individuals 56.Access software is used to communicate with internal databases 30, 62 orexternal or remote databases, and comparison software is used to reviewdata as related to the external and/or internal databases 30, 62.Sensitivity software is also used to establish thresholds and toissue/trigger investigation signals, which may be displayed on theoutput device or monitor 40, and category software is used to dividedata within individual files or images captured by the input devices 12,18 into coherent segments. In addition, any other software as desired bysecurity and/or law enforcement personnel may be utilized. Individualswill next verify the operational status and accuracy of the computer 22operation for the intelligent audio/visual observation andidentification database system 10 to insure functioning prior toimplementation. The computer 22 will then be connected to the individualsecurity zone 50 network of optical input devices 12 for testing as toan operational status. Next, the computer 22 will be connected to anetwork comprised of a plurality of security zones 50 to insureoperational communication therebetween.

Next the intelligent audio/visual observation and identificationdatabase system 10, including the optical input devices 12 and otherinput devices 18, will be initiated. The computer 22 will thenaccumulate data and build a database 30, 62 for observed vehicles 70 andindividuals 56 within the individual security zone 50.

The optical input devices 12 will then observe vehicles 70 andindividuals 56 where the computer 22 will access internal databases 30,62 and external databases to identify the make and model of the vehicle,facial recognition of driver 56 and passengers, driver's license number,driving record, criminal history, expected load, and any otherinformation related to the vehicle 70 and/or individual 56.

The computer 22 may next implement either standard or customized queriesor searches for defined profiles related to individuals 56 and/orvehicles 70 within the accumulated database 30, 62 for the security zone50. Upon identification of individuals 56 and/or vehicles 70 whichsatisfy the profile criteria, a communication signal will be generatedto advise law enforcement, surveillance, or security zone 50 officers asto the status and location of the individuals 56 and/or vehicles 70under investigation.

The computer 22 may then additionally access the network of theplurality of security zones 50 for transmission of search requestsand/or information as related to a current condition within the initialsecurity zone 50. These inquiries may be global, or may be limited tospecific periods of time or other specific conditions.

FIG. 2 depicts an entry point or security checkpoint 52, which maycomprise a zone 50. The intelligent observation and identificationdatabase system 10 preferably utilizes an observation post or checkpoint52 at an entrance or an exit to a secured zone 50 to optically observeand input, at both the entrance and the exit, information to record andstore within the database 30 for identification of regular andrepetitive conduct of specific vehicles 70 or individuals 56 within thesecurity zone 50. In addition, other types of recognition such as facialrecognition, fingerprint recognition, palm print recognition, voiceprint recognition, eye scan, and/or signature recognition may be coupledto the input devices 12,18 for recording of data to be automaticallyaccessed and stored by the intelligent video/audio observation andidentification database system 10.

As a vehicle 70 approaches the checkpoint 52, the intelligentvideo/audio observation and identification database system 10 desirablyemploys a plurality of input devices 12, 18 to record images related tothe vehicle 70 and its occupants 56. Optical input devices 12 mayinclude cameras, digital cameras and charge-coupled devices such asdisclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,182,647 to Chang, the disclosure of whichis incorporated herein by reference, video cameras, scanners and anyother appropriate devices to record an image. The optical input device12 desirably records a digital image for analysis by the computer 22. Ifthe optical input device 12 does not record a digital image, the system10 desirably includes a digital converter to convert the image to adigital format.

The computer 22 for the intelligent audio/visual observation andidentification database system 10 preferably is sufficientlysophisticated for tracking of a vehicle 70 and/or individual 56 as thevehicle 70 and/or individual 56 passes through a plurality ofindependent optical input devices 12 or other input devices 18 aspreviously discussed. In this regard, the computer 22 receives dataindependently from one or more input devices 12, 18 for analysis againstpre-stored and/or prerecorded data in the database 30 related to thevehicle 70 and/or individual 56. In this regard, it is not required thatthe first optical input device 12 observe all relevant data related to avehicle 70 and/or individual 56. For example, a first optical inputdevice 12 may recognize a license plate 54, but due to the alignment ofthe vehicle 70 with the optical input device 12, the side profile of thevehicle 70 may not be readily ascertained. As the vehicle 70 approachesand passes into the viewing area of additional optical input devices 12,a perpendicular observation alignment may occur where the side profileand loading of the vehicle 70 may be readily ascertained. It istherefore anticipated that the intelligent audio/visual observation andidentification database system 10 simultaneously and continuouslyreceives data from all input devices 12, 18 for processing foridentification, observation, tracking, and identifying an individual 56or vehicle 70. All input data may further be stored within acontinuously evolving database 30.

Optical input devices 12 are desirably arranged to record images of thevehicle 70 license plate 54 and of the face of the driver 56 andpassengers. The devices 12 may also record images related to the front,rear, and side profiles of the vehicle 70.

The intelligent video/audio observation and identification databasesystem 10 desirably records an image of the license plate 54 for storageof the license plate 54 number, the time and date of the recording, anddigital images representative of the vehicle 70, driver 56 andpassengers, including appearance characteristics.

The optical input device 12 may include a flash for proper imagerecording in low light conditions, such as at night or within a buildingenclosure. The optical input devices 12 desirably will include exposurecontrol sensors, such as antiblooming and antismear sensors to preventblooming and smearing of images, for example as may be caused byheadlights.

Often it is desirable to keep the input devices 12, 18 hidden from viewof the motorists. The input devices 12, 18 may be disguised or hiddenfrom view within various enclosures. For example, FIG. 2 depicts aninput device 12 positioned to record a vehicle 70 license plate 54 thatis mounted in the ground, having only a small dome protruding above theroad surface.

When the input devices 12, 18 are hidden, or when the use of a visibleflash is undesirable, the system 10 may make use of IR flashes, whichgenerally produce light not visible to the human eye and can include anIR bandpass filter to completely remove visible light. The optical inputdevices 12 should be adapted to record images based from the IR lightand adjust the recorded image to be visible by the human eye, or toadjust the exposure control as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,809,161 toAuty et al., the disclosure of which is incorporated herein byreference.

When an image of the vehicle 70 license plate 54 is recorded, thecomputer 22 may analyze the image to determine the license plate 54number. Desirably, the computer 22 performs an optical characterrecognition (OCR) to extract the data pertaining to license plate 54characters from the digital image and convert the data into standardalphanumeric characters, such as ASCII text. An example of OCR isdescribed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,875,261 to Fitzpatrick et al., thedisclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

Once the license plate 54 has been converted to computer 22 readablecharacters, the computer 22 will access the evolving database 30information to allow for verification of the make, model, vehicle typeand the registered driver 56. Further, the computer 22 is able to checkthe criminal history and driving history related to the license plate54. Thus, as a vehicle 70 approaches a checkpoint 52, the license plate54 may be read, and the computer 22 may display the expected driver 56and vehicle information on the monitor 40 for security personnel.Further, if the database 30 search reveals any warrants on the vehicle70 or expected driver 56, the computer 22 may alert security personnel.

It should be noted that the license plate 54 image and characterrecognition portion of the system 10 may alternatively be utilized as aportable apparatus, for example within a police or security vehicle, asdepicted in FIG. 3. As such, the portable apparatus may comprise aportable license plate 54 recognition and information retrievalapparatus 80. The security or police personnel will then have a completeautomatic description of the vehicle 70 associated with the licenseplate 54, and any history associated with the vehicle 70 and registeredowner or of the vehicle 70. The database 30 may be located within thepatrol vehicle, while a wireless connection 58 may be utilized tofacilitate communication with a mainframe computer 60 or mainframedatabase 62.

Referring again to FIG. 2 and a security checkpoint 52, the system 10may also include one or more optical input devices 12 positioned beneaththe vehicle 70 in order to record an image of the vehicle undercarriage.The undercarriage optical input devices 12 may be mounted beneath theroad surface, flush with the road surface or protruding from the road.Desirably, protrusion above the ground will be kept to a minimum. Theundercarriage optical input devices 12 may be coupled to lights or IRlights to illuminate the areas to be observed. The under-vehicle inputdevices 12 may comprise scanners 14 to scan an image which more closelyrepresents a scale image of the undercarriage, without perspectiveskewing of the image. In either case, the computer 22 may includesoftware to stretch and skew the recorded undercarriage image to match apredetermined scale. Further, the system 10 may include a speeddetermining device 24, such as a radar gun, to actively evaluate therate of displacement of the vehicle 70 during recording of the image, sothat the computer 22 may adjust the recorded information to produce anaccurate scaled image.

FIGS. 4 and 4A depict two similar vehicle undercarriages. The computer22, upon the receipt of information concerning the make and model of thevehicle 70, as provided by the license plate 54 reader, may access thedatabase 30 for retrieval of a pre-recorded undercarriage image 34representative of the blueprint or undercarriage of the identified makeand model for the vehicle 70. The input device 12 preferably stores theobserved undercarriage image 36 of the inspected vehicle 70 withinmemory as a file related to the undercarriage of the vehicle 70 underinvestigation. The computer 22 may then display both the pre-recordedundercarriage image 34 and the observed undercarriage image 36 on themonitor 40 for comparison by security personnel.

Alternatively, the computer 22 may automatically compare the observedundercarriage image 36 of the vehicle 70 to the pre-recordedundercarriage image 34 of a standard vehicle of the identical make andmodel.

Automatic image comparing by the computer may be accomplished by anymethod known in the art, desirably by probabilistic analysis such asthresholding of color and intensity of pixels, shape-plus-texturemethods, Principle Component Analysis (PCA) and Eigenvector orEigenspace decomposition analysis. Example methods of image analysis aredisclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,035,055 to Wang et al., U.S. Pat. No.5,164,992 to Turk et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,710,833 to Moghaddam et al.,U.S. Pat. No. 6,035,074 to Fujimoto et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,072,893 toLuo et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,181,805 to Koike et al., U.S. Pat. No.6,389,155 to Funayama et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 6,400,828 to Covell etal., the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference.

In the event that the observed undercarriage image 36 of the vehicle 70matches the pre-stored image 34 for the vehicle 70 within predeterminedtolerances, then the computer 22 may issue a pass signal to an officer,indicating that the system 10 has determined from the undercarriageimage that the vehicle 70 matches the license plate 54, and that thesystem 10 has not detected suspicious items from the undercarriageimage. Alternatively, in the event that differences are identifiedbetween the observed undercarriage 36 of the vehicle 70 and theprerecorded image 34 for the undercarriage of the vehicle, then thecomputer 22 may immediately communicate to a law enforcement,surveillance, or security officer a hold, warning or instruction toinvestigate signal.

In the event that the observed undercarriage image 36 of the vehicle 70does not match the pre-stored image 34 for the vehicle withinpredetermined tolerances, the computer 22 may be programmed to reactdifferently under various circumstances. If the images 34 and 36 aresubstantially similar except for a concentrated area of dissimilarity32, as depicted in FIG. 4A, the computer 22 may issue an alert signal tosecurity personnel to investigate the dissimilarity 32. Such adissimilarity 32 may be due to an explosive device, hiding persons orother smuggled materials.

If substantial portions of the images 34 and 36 do not match, especiallywhen there are multiple discrepancies detected both fore and aft of thefloor pans 38, then the computer 22 may indicate that the vehicledetermination according to the license plate 54 (the prerecorded image34) does not match the actual vehicle 70 as observed. Thus, the computer22 can initiate an investigation as to the type of vehicle 70 andaccompanying license plates 54.

The computer 22 may also initiate a search of the database 30, 62 andattempt to identify the vehicle 70 by matching the observedundercarriage 36 with one or more of the prerecorded vehicleundercarriage images stored in the database 30, 62.

In an alternative embodiment, a computer 22 may combine observedrecorded images 36 for the undercarriage of a vehicle 70 where nopre-screening of the license plate 54 has occurred. In this embodimentthe computer 22 will directly search all available data representativeof undercarriages of vehicles in the database 30 to attempt to match apreviously stored database image 34 to the observed undercarriage image36 as described above. The computer 22 may then communicate to asecurity or law enforcement officer the make and/or model representativeof the match between the recorded image 36 of the vehicle 70undercarriage to the pre-stored database image 34 for the vehicleundercarriage, whereupon the security officer may visually verify themake and model for the vehicle 70. In the event of a discrepancy the lawenforcement or security officer may then initiate further investigationof the vehicle 70. In this embodiment, such as depicted in FIG. 5, thesystem may be portable and comprise a portable vehicle undercarriageidentification and screening system 82.

In such a portable system 82, it is desirable to record an observedundercarriage image 36 and have the computer 22 scan the database 30 forlikely matches. The computer 22 may then select the most likelyprerecorded undercarriage image 34 match for comparison. Alternatively,the computer may display a predetermined number of likely but differingmatches, for example different makes or models of vehicles, in order ofrank according to probability of the match, thus allowing an operator orsecurity person to select the actual vehicle and correspondingprerecorded undercarriage image 34 for use in comparing to the observedundercarriage image 36. The computer 22 may then proceed with acomparison as described above.

Referring again to FIG. 2, the intelligent video/audio observation andidentification database system 10 preferably includes a database whichwill include any number of pre-stored images representative ofundercarriage and front, side and rear profiles of different models,makes, and years of vehicles. Thus, the optical input devices 12 mayrecord front, rear and/or side profile images of the vehicle 70 underinvestigation for comparison to prerecorded images stored in thedatabase 30 of front, rear and/or side profile images. Thus, similarlyto the method of comparison described above, the system 10 may determinean expected vehicle based upon the license plate 54 identification, andcompare a prerecorded profile image from the database 30 to an actualprofile image of the vehicle 70. Thus, the system 10 may either verifythat the make and model of the actual vehicle 70 matches the expectedvehicle make and model as determined from the license plates 54, orindicate a discrepancy and alert security personnel.

Further, some embodiments of the system 10 may use observed front, rearand/or side profile images in determining the appropriate prerecordedundercarriage image 34 to select for comparison with an observedundercarriage image 36.

Other embodiments may include programming for the computer 22 toinitially attempt to identify the make, model, and year for a vehicle 70prior to the retrieval of pre-stored images 34 representative of theundercarriage for the target vehicle 70. The computer 22 then may verifythe observed image 36 and prerecorded image 34 for the undercarriage ofthe vehicle 70 to issue a pass, hold, and/or warning signal to asecurity officer. The computer 22 may alternatively select any number ofoptions of variations for the undercarriage of a particular make andmodel of vehicle to expedite the comparison between the observed andrecorded image to the information as stored within the computer 22database. For example, some vehicles have optional features that changethe undercarriage and profile views of the vehicle 70. Desirably, thedatabase will contain prerecorded images 34 for all factory variationsof all vehicles available for sale in the United States.

The intelligent video/audio observation and identification databasesystem 10 may analyze a profile image of a vehicle 70, desirably a sideor rear view profile image, to determine probable overloading of thevehicle 70. For example, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 6A, the computer maycompare a prerecorded profile 44 of a vehicle 70 in the database 30 tothe actual observed profile 46 of the vehicle 70 being investigated. Thesystem may determine probable overloading of a vehicle 70 based upondiscrepancies between the prerecorded profile 44 and the observedprofile 46, such as a deflected profile line 88, a reduced wheelclearance 90 or a reduced ground clearance 92. Indication of increasedloading of a vehicle 70 could indicate the presence of contraband,persons or explosive devices within the vehicle 70.

Referring to FIG. 2, the intelligent video/audio observation andidentification database system 10 may include a scale platform 86, orother apparatus for determining the actual weight of the vehicle 70. Theactual recorded weight is desirably compared to the typical weight of astock vehicle, which is desirably contained in the database 30. If theactual weight is higher than the typical stock weight by a predeterminedamount, the system 10 may signal to security personnel to investigate.

In some embodiments, as described below, the system 10 may have thecapability of determining the number of visible vehicle occupants 56 andidentifying the occupants 56. When this information is available to thesystem 10, the computer 22 may be programmed to account for the expectedweight of each detected occupant. Thus, the predetermined amount ofweight differential between the actual weight and the typical stockweight may be increased according to the expected weight of the vehicleoccupants 56.

Upon detection of any threshold discrepancies related to the vehicle 70itself, the computer 22 for the intelligent video/audio observation andidentification database system 10 will issue a flag to a securityofficer to stop, hold, and/or investigate the vehicle 70 and totemporarily refuse entrance into the security zone 50. The optical inputdevices 12 and scale 86 thereby provide enhanced safety to the securityzone 50 functioning as a proactive automatic screening system toprohibit and to apprehend potential criminals and terrorists prior toentry into a secured location or zone 50.

The intelligent video/audio observation and identification databasesystem 10 may include optical input devices 12 arranged to record animage of the vehicle occupants 56. Desirably the input devices 12 arepositioned to record a front view and/or a side profile of the variousoccupants 56. The system 10 may also include other input devices 18 torecord input data from the driver 56 and passengers. For example, another input device 18 may be a fingerprint scanner, palm scanner,retinal scanner, microphone, etc. FIG. 7 depicts an embodiment of asystem 10 which may include an input unit having an optical input device12, and other input devices such as a microphone 19 and a thumbprintscanner 20. Such an embodiment of a system 10 may be useful at a remotecheckpoint 52.

Personal data recorded from the vehicle occupants 56, such as photoimages, finger or thumbprints, palm prints, retinal scans and voicecaptures, may be compared to similar prerecorded files stored in thedatabase 30 in order to verify and/or identify the vehicle occupants 56.Thus, it is desirable for the database 30 to contain relevantinformation of all persons who regularly pass through the zone 50, aswell as identification information, especially fingerprints and facialimages or mug shots of known criminals, suspects, terrorists or anyother individuals 56 that should not be admitted into the security zone50.

Further, all data prerecorded into a database 30, 62 or subsequentlystored in a database 30, 62 by the system 10 may be classified withinthe database 30, 62 or by any of the computers 22, 60. Thus, vehicleinformation may be classified by make and model, vehicle year, vehiclesize or even frequency of the queries that the specific data filereceives. Personal data may be grouped according to any standard inorder to facilitate searching, such as facial size, skin tone,male/female, eye location, and the like.

In addition to the image analysis methods previously discussed, U.S.Pat. No. 6,111,671 to Bahuguna et al. discloses a fingerprint sensor andverification system; U.S. Pat. No. 5,359,669 to Shanley et al. disclosesa retinal scan and verification system; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,396,954 toKondo discloses voice recognition, the contents of which areincorporated herein by reference.

Thus, the system 10 may be capable of automatically identifying vehicleoccupants 56 and other personnel 56 entering into the security zone 50and recording the entry time and location.

The system 10 may be used to compare the prerecorded personalinformation contained in a database 30, 62 or an external databaserelated to the identified license plate 54 with the observed informationto verify the accuracy of the observed information. In addition, visualfacial recognition images may be used to verify a driver's license photoassociated with a detected license plate 54. In this regard, theintelligent video/audio observation and identification database system10 constructs an individualized database 30 for a security zone 50 whichis customized, in real time, to automatically detect a discrepancy andto flag observed criteria to facilitate safety and security for adesired zone 50 or checkpoint 52.

The intelligent video/audio observation and identification databasesystem 10 is preferably sufficiently accurate to compare observed datato previously stored data to identify discrepancies such as whether ornot a license plate 54 for a vehicle 70 has been switched with anothervehicle, an automobile has been stolen, the drivers 56 of vehicles 70 donot match previously stored data, and/or whether or not the driver 56satisfies profile criteria to warrant further investigation.

Further, separate zones 50 within the intelligent video/audioobservation and identification database system 10 may be incommunication with each other. For example, a building may have a firstzone 50 defined as the exterior perimeter and parking structure, asecond zone 50 for the building lobby, and an additional zone 50 foreach floor of the building.

Additionally, separate intelligent video/audio observation andidentification database systems 10 may be connected together, forexample via the internet, for communication with one another. Separateintelligent video/audio observation and identification database systems10 may be located in adjacent areas within the same building, inseparate adjacent buildings, or even in another city or country.

The computer 22 for the intelligent video/audio observation andidentification database system 10 may include an interface between anynumber of application specific databases 30, 62, which in turn may becoupled with screening and/or searching functions to identify vehicles70 and/or individuals 56 within the United States. For example, a citysuch as Washington D.C. may have any number of government buildings andoffices, including airports, each containing an intelligent video/audioobservation and identification database system 10. A first preliminaryscreening inquiry may identify a vehicle 70 with a falsified licenseplate 54 and simultaneously a facial recognition system may identify anethnic background for an individual 56. A second inquiry may searchfacial recognition data as stored within the FBI, CIA, INTERPOL, and/orother law enforcement databases for identification of the individual 56.A computer 22 for the intelligent video/audio observation andidentification database system 10 may simultaneously send a message toall government buildings or other systems 10 to flag a database 30search for a particular license plate 54 or facial or personal datarecognition features. The vehicle 70 containing the matching licenseplate 54 or suspect individual 56 may thereby be tracked by the system10 or various systems 10 recording each recognition occurrence as thevehicle 70 or individual 56 attempts to engage in reconnaissanceactivities around additional government buildings within a city. Uponrecognition of a flagged condition, a signal may be sent to asurveillance, security, or law enforcement personnel as to the locationof the vehicle 70 or individual 56 relative to government buildingswithin the city. The coupling of numerous intelligent video/audioobservation and identification database systems 10 thereby facilitatesinvestigation, interrogation, and apprehension of suspects locatedwithin or adjacent to security zones 50.

Further, the intelligent video/audio observation and identificationdatabase system 10 as coupled to other systems 10 integral to distantsecurity zones 50 may, upon the flagging of a vehicle 70 or individual56, initiate an inquiry to other security zones 50 of the network, suchas other government buildings or other types of high security areas torequest transmittal of information related to the flagged vehicle 70and/or individual 56. Acknowledgment signals may thereby be passed andinformation transferred concerning dates, times, images, priorityclassification, and other prior recorded information as to the presenceof the suspect vehicle 70 and/or individual 56 within other the securityzones 50. The transmittal of information from remote security zones 50in response to an inquiry may then be automatically processed forprovision of a signal to a law enforcement, surveillance, or securityofficer to stop, interrogate, and/or implement additional searchingrelated to a vehicle 70 and/or individual 56.

The intelligent video/audio observation, identification and databasesystem 10 thereby provides a real time network of transmittedinformation for verification of data related to a vehicle 70 and/orindividual 56 adjacent to or within a security zone 50. In real timeofficers are provided with the opportunity to apprehend and/orinterrogate suspect individuals 56 and/or vehicles 70 on a significantlyexpedited basis.

Security zones 50 which may use the intelligent video/audio observationand identification database system 10 may include, but are notnecessarily limited to, areas such as airports, embassies, hospitals,schools, government buildings, commercial buildings, power plants,chemical plants, garages, and/or any other location for which themonitoring of vehicle 70 or individual 56 traffic and/or security isdesirable.

An intelligent observation and identification database system 10 may bearranged to learn the expected times for arrival and departure ofindividuals 56 and vehicles 70 from various zones 10. Each time anindividual 56 or vehicle 70 enters or exits a security zone 50, thesystem 10 may record in the database 30 the time and location of thearrival or exit. Thus, over time, the system 10 may learn the expectedarrival and departure times based upon the average of a predeterminednumber of instances, or by the most common of a range of predeterminedtimes, such as normal shift times. Thus, if a vehicle 70 of individual56 attempts to enter or exit a zone 50 at a time other than the learnedexpected time of entry or exit, the system 10 may alert securitypersonnel to initiate an investigation.

A more detailed method of accumulation of security zone 50 database 30information and network communication within a plurality of securityzones 50 initiates upon further occurrences of observation andidentification of vehicles 70 and license plates 54, as well asindividuals 56.

The computer 22 may then store information within the database 30pertaining to the vehicle 70 or individual 56 based any desiredclassification system, such as by license plate 54, and other retrievedidentification information.

The computer 22 may record the time, date, license plate 54 number,facial or other type of recognition of the driver 56 and/or passengersor individuals, recorded images of the front, back, and sides of thevehicle 70 as well as the make, and model for storage within thedatabase 30.

The computer 22 may also access pre-stored database 30 information toretrieve information related to the make, model, year, status, likelydriver 56, driving record, criminal record, employment information andother personal information including a photo identification from adrivers license for a targeted vehicle 70 for display upon a monitor 40.

The computer 22 will next compare the observed data to the prerecordedand stored data to implement a search for any discrepancies.

If any threshold discrepancy is identified, a signal will becommunicated to a security, surveillance, or law enforcement officer toinitiate a more detailed investigation.

Further, if the computer 22 discovers any alerting information resultingfrom the database 30 search, such as an arrest warrant, the system mayissue an alert to security personnel, as well as display all availableimage and recorded data pertaining to that person 56 or vehicle 70 upona monitor 40, a plurality of monitors 40 in predetermined zones 50, orall monitors 40 within the system 10. The system may additionally issuean audible alert and a supplemental visual alert, such as a flashinglight.

The intelligent video/audio observation and identification databasesystem 10 may also retrieve pre-recorded images or other data from thedatabase 30 concerning a subject vehicle 70 or person 56 which has beentracked within the security zone 50. This tracking feature allowssecurity, surveillance, and/or law enforcement personnel to input as aquery search for information concerning a suspect vehicle 70 orindividual 56, resulting in the display of all available descriptioninformation pertaining to the vehicle 70 or individual 56 forimplementation of a search.

It is anticipated that the intelligent video/audio observation andidentification database system 10 will obtain vehicle information at asecurity zone 50 entry station for the identification, storage ofinformation within the database 30 and tracking of each and everyrecognized and/or unrecognized person 56 and every vehicle 70.

The information related to regular employees, such as vehicle 70 licenseplate 54, make and model, facial image recognition, and all other storedinformation is anticipated to be automatically verified at an entrystation 52 for a security zone 50 by the input devices 12, 18 coupled tothe computer 22 based upon database 30 searches and file comparisons.The information relative to a regular employee may be assigned a lowlevel priority during profile searching, which in turn expedites andfacilitates retrieval of information about vehicles 70 or individuals 56which are unknown, or should otherwise be subject to a profile inquiryor investigation.

The intelligent video/audio observation and identification databasesystem 10 may alert security personnel as to tasks that should beattended to, such as investigating a suspicious vehicle 70 oridentifying an unknown person 56. Thus, the system 10 may generate atask log which may be displayed upon a monitor 40. The individual taskswithin the task log may be automatically removed from the task log bythe system 10 upon performance of the task, if the task is one that thesystem 10 is capable of sensing the completion of, such as entering avehicle make and model. Further, all tasks may be manually removed fromthe task list by authorized personnel.

The intelligent video/audio observation and identification databasesystem 10 may rank tasks in order of importance and priority. Desirably,a task list will be updated according to predetermined intervals oftime, or whenever a task is added to or deleted from the list.

In this regard, the intelligent video/audio observation andidentification database system 10 may have pre-programmed flags and/orthresholds for triggering of the provision of tasks or signals to a law,security, and/or surveillance officer. The computer 22 may be programmedto assess a point system or flag upon the recognition of certain imagesand/or profile characteristics relative to a vehicle 70, individual 56,and/or pedestrian being examined. The computer 22 will record and/ortrack the number of points or flags assigned to a particular vehicle 70,occupant 56, and/or pedestrian. When a certain number of flags and/orpoints have been assigned, according to a previously stored profile,then the computer 22 will emit or issue a signal to an officer, whichmay be ranked against other tasks in order of importance. An officerreceiving the signal will desirably perform tasks according to theassociated priority level, such as high priority, intermediate priority,low priority, or normal investigative priority to respond to the signal.The computer 22 may store any information or data collected pertainingto the task, as well as the instruction for the task itself in thedatabase 30, for example in a subject file related to the vehicle 70,occupant 56, and/or pedestrian the task was associated with.

Further, priority levels with respect to tasks, and the threshold levelsat which tasks are grouped into priority categories, may be adjusted byauthorized personnel. Thus, stored data of previous officer priorityassessments will be available for retrieval and analysis in order toadjust and/or recalculate a flag or point threshold for future contacts.For example, if a vehicle 70 has a certain number of flags and/or theoccupant 56 has a certain number of flags according to a pre-programmedprofile threshold, then the computer 22 may signal an officer. If theofficer elects to assign a high priority, then the point or flagthreshold for the vehicle 70 or individual 56 for future reference maybe retained at the current level or reduced for more frequent inquiry.If the officer elects to assign a low priority, then the point or flagthreshold for the vehicle 70 or occupant 56 may be increased to reducethe frequency of submission to an officer for a review of the priorityselection.

In addition, it is anticipated that each optical input device 12 will befurther electrically coupled to, and may be in communication with, afacial recognition system which may be integral to and/or independent ofthe intelligent audio/visual observation and identification databasesystem 10. The communication between the facial recognition system andthe intelligent audio/visual observation and identification databasesystem 10 thereby facilitates the accumulation of further data relatedto a vehicle 70, vehicle occupants 56, and/or individuals 56 such aspedestrians. The computer 22 for the intelligent audio/visualobservation and identification database system 10 may thereforeefficiently and expeditiously signal a security and/or law enforcementofficer when an unrecognized individual 56 is operating a particularmotor vehicle 70.

The currently available computer 22 hardware and software enable theintelligent audio/visual observation and identification database system10 to identify and track vehicles 70 and/or individuals 56 within asecurity zone 50 and compare the observed data in real time topreviously stored data to assess the risk of criminal activity.

It is anticipated that the software as integral to the computer 22 forthe intelligent video/audio observation and identification databasesystem 10 will include processing capability from static optical devices12 such as cameras, where the software may be used to track a person 56or vehicle 70 within a zone 50. Such software will establish particulardetail boxes and/or zones within a visualized image or group of images,such that the detail boxes will follow and track the transition of aspecific object across a viewing zone. Tracking may be accomplishedaccording to deciphering of image data as disclosed above. A vehicle 70or group of vehicles 70 under investigation may therefore bespecifically located within a security zone 50 and/or tracked to anunauthorized location. Upon the identification of an unpermittedpresence of a vehicle 70 or group of vehicles 70 within an unauthorizedsection of a zone 50, the intelligent video/audio observation andidentification database system 10 may immediately signal a lawenforcement or security individual as to an unauthorized presence of avehicle 70, group of vehicles 70, pedestrian, and/or individual 56proximate to a restricted access zone 50.

The intelligent audio/visual observation and identification databasesystem 10 may further be arranged to track vehicles 70 or individuals 56as they move from zone 50 to zone 50. If a low level tracking priorityis assigned to the vehicle 70 or individual 56, tracking may beaccomplished by recording the location and time for each instance whenthe system 10 identifies the vehicle 70 or individual 56. Thus, a lowlevel tracking priority may normally generate a log of when and where avehicle 70 or individual 56 was seen. Over time, the system 10 may learntypical paths, times and zones 50 where specific vehicles 70 andindividuals 56 spend their time. The system 10 may then issue an alertwhen a vehicle 70 or individual 56 deviates from their normal path. Forexample, if a person 56 normally may be found on second floor, and theyoccasionally pass through first floor, but have never gone to the fourthfloor, then the system 10 may alert security personnel 56 if the personis identified by the system 10 on fourth floor.

FIG. 8 depicts a room having multiple input devices 12, 18. The otherinput device 18 shown may be a palm reader. A plurality of cameras 12may be located within a room. Another camera 12 a may be mounted toobserve activity outside the depicted room. Thus, the cameras 12 and 12a may be arranged to allow the system 10 to track a person 56 as theperson approaches and enters the room, and as the person moves aroundwithin the room.

If a high level tracking priority is assigned to the vehicle 70 orindividual 56, then continuous active tracking via software analysis ofvideo image feeds is desirable. As such, the system may continuallypinpoint the zone 50, and even the exact location of a person 56 withinthe zone 50.

The computer 22 for the intelligent audio/visual observation andidentification database system 10 preferably includes software to searchfor discrepancies from previously normalized data representative ofhistoric actions related to an individual 56 and/or a vehicle 70. Thecomputer 22 for the intelligent audio/visual observation andidentification database system 10 implements the recording of data tobuild vehicle 70/individual 56 specific files or histories, includingimages representative of activity within a security zone 50. Thecomputer 22 may therefore compare current vehicle 70 or individual 56activity against previously stored and recorded activity data toestablish standard deviations or thresholds which may, in turn, triggera signal or warning if current conduct is outside acceptable parametersand warrants further investigation by surveillance, security, and/or lawenforcement officers.

A computer 22 may further track vehicles 70 or individuals 56 within thesecurity zone 50 to identify the at rest position of the vehicle 70 orlocation of the individual 56 within the security zone 50. In addition,the computer 22 will track the subsequent repositioning of a vehicle 70or individual 56 within a security zone 50.

The computer 22 may then implement a software sub-routine which searchesfor one or more pre-stored profile searches as related to vehicles 70and/or individuals 56 within the security zone 50.

In the event that a vehicle 70 and/or individual 56 is identified assatisfying any pre-established or customized profile parameters, thenthe computer 22 will track the vehicle 70 and/or individual 56 whilesimultaneously issuing a signal to security, surveillance, and/or lawenforcement personnel to initiate an investigation. In addition, thecomputer 22 will initiate a communication to be received by othercomputers 22 as part of the security zone 50 network to establish apriority search for the targeted vehicle 70 and/or individual 56. Thecomputer 22 will track a vehicle 70 and/or individual 56 through eachzone 50 through various passive input devices 12, 18. Alternatively, theoptical input devices 12 may include one or more active devices to trackthe motion of the vehicle 70 and/or individual 56 through rotation ofthe optical input device 12.

The computer 22 for the intelligent audio/visual observation andidentification database system 10 enables surveillance, security, orpolice officers to select a desired period of time for searching inorder to narrow initial investigations and facilitate expeditedapprehension of terrorists/criminals. For example, if a death were tooccur within a garage setting, and a time of death is established withinan acceptable range, then the computer 22 for the intelligentaudio/visual observation and identification database system 10 wouldidentify each and every vehicle 70 and person 56 within a given zone 50or group of zones 50 during the proscribed period of time, which in turnmay identify any witnesses and/or the perpetrator of the crime.

Preferably, the computer 22 automatically initiates comparisons tosearch for discrepancies between observed and stored data as related toa variety of thresholds to issue a warning signal upon automaticdetections of discrepancies. Alternatively, an individual security orlaw enforcement officer may issue a query to identify and/or tag aspecific vehicle 70 or individual 56 for communication within thenetwork of linked security zones 50 to advise all network locations toinitiate a search for a particular vehicle 70 or individual 56, and/orprerecorded data related to a specific individual 56 or vehicle 70.

Similarly, the remote security zones 50 as part of the security zone 50network may implement individual searches, desirably within theindividual stored databases, for communication of information back to anoriginating computer 22. Alternatively, the computers 22 for the remotesecurity zones 50 may initiate a search sub-routine to attempt toidentify vehicles 70 and/or individuals 56 which have been previouslyflagged by another computer 22 as a member of the security zone 50network. The identification and/or apprehension of vehicles 70 and/orindividuals 56 is thereby enhanced through a network of computers 22 asrelated to individual security zones 50 within a geographic area such asa floor, building or even a city.

An individual user may implement a query and/or a search based uponcustomized parameters occurring within the security zone 50 within anypreviously recorded period of time. The computer 22 will generallyassign differing levels of priority for the data to be stored andaccumulated within the database 30. For example, a regular routine suchas for an employee will be assessed a relatively low search priority,whereas instances of individual occurrences of conduct or presence maybe assessed a relatively high search priority. The computer 22 will thenfilter, screen, and search groups of data within each priorityclassification to identify vehicles 56 and/or individuals 56 whichsatisfy the profile parameters. For example, a profile parameter mayinclude all rental vehicles located within a security zone 50 during aparticular period of time. In this instance, the computer 22 will assigna very low search priority to vehicles 70 driven by regular employeeswithin the security zone 50. Further, the intelligent video/audioobservation and identification database system 10 may in real timeadvise an officer that within the subject class under investigation,certain vehicles 70 and/or individuals 56 are located and are presentwithin historically recorded and observed locations, while otherparticularly identified vehicles 70 and/or individuals 56 are notcurrently present or located at previously observed locations. Anofficer may thereby prioritize to expedite additional investigation asnecessary.

The computer 22 may further implement a query to identify the currentplacement of all vehicles 70 and/or individuals 56 which have satisfiedthe profile search parameters. The computer 22 will then communicate toa security, surveillance, or law enforcement officer the location of theindividuals 56 and/or vehicles 70 which satisfy the profile parameterswithin the security zone 50. In addition, the computer 22 may issue adetain signal to a security zone 50 check point and/or exit to prohibitand/or detain the departure of a targeted vehicle 70 and/or individual56 from the security zone 50. The computer 22 may further communicatedifferent levels of signals, for example signals to investigate, performdetailed investigation, temporarily detain, and/or prohibit exit from asecurity zone 50. The level of signal to be generated by the computer 22may be established by a customized input from a security and/or lawenforcement officer having preauthorized access to implement a morerestrictive enforcement signal, or by traditional preset levels ofimportance. The optical input devices 12 as incorporated into a securityzone 50 exit or checkpoint 52 may also identify the approach of atargeted vehicle 70 to an exit. A computer 22 for the intelligentaudio/visual observation and identification database system 10 will thenidentify the exact location of the vehicle 70 and issue a positionlocation signal to law enforcement, surveillance, and/or securitypersonnel to facilitate the repositioning of the officers to thelocation of the targeted vehicle 70.

When the intelligent audio/visual observation and identificationdatabase system 10 is utilized in conjunction with a governmentstructure such as an embassy, the computer 22 may further includesub-routines to identify and issue immediate investigation and/orwarning signals upon the stoppage of certain types of vehicles 70adjacent to an embassy. In addition, a timing sensitivity sub-routinemay be incorporated into the software for the computer 22 to trigger awarning and/or investigation signal to an officer when a vehicle 70 isstopped adjacent to an embassy during certain periods of time. It isanticipated that the computer 22 for the intelligent audio/visualobservation and identification database system 10 will additionallysearch for discrepancies between database 30 data and current observeddata, in order to initiate the automatic communication of a warning orinvestigation signal to a surveillance, security, or law enforcementofficer in appropriate situations. In this regard, the system 10 isdesirably arranged to learn and recognize repetitive patterns within theaccumulated database 30. Therefore, the computer 22 may assess a lowquery priority to repetitive and/or regular patterns, and implement amore expedited search related to non-regular pattern data as storedwithin the accumulated database 30. Any parameters may be selected forthe recognition of patterns within a security zone 50 dependent uponindividual environmental conditions and customized needs at eachindependent security zone 50. For example, six days of repetitiveactions may be required to establish a regular pattern of conduct withina first security zone 50 where two months of repetitive conduct may berequired to establish a regular pattern within a second security zone50.

The computer 22 for the intelligent audio/visual observation andidentification database system 10 may be arranged to continuouslycompare each observed encounter to the collection of previously storeddata to identify patterns and deviations from the patterns as previouslyrecorded. If no discrepancy is identified then the observed instance maybe assigned a relatively low priority during profile query and/orsearching.

During pattern learning, the computer 22 sensitivity may be establishedby the initial creation of a file and/or data pertaining to anindividual. Next, the input of a desired amount of data representativeof repeated actions may be required. The number or amount of data mayrepresent 20, 50, 100, or 200, repetitive occurrences. The occurrencesmay be required to be within a certain classification, such as allwithin a certain zone 50, or all within a certain period of time duringthe day, such as between 3 and 4 o'clock p.m. The computer 22 may thencalculate a mean value based upon the recorded data. Alternatively, therecorded data may be divided into more than one segment and a mean maybe calculated for each desired segment. The computer 22 will generallycontinue to store data, and therefore update the pattern, as detected bythe input devices 12, 18. The computer 22 is preferably designed torecalculate a mean for the data following each additional data entry.The computer 22 may include sensitivity trigger software which willidentify a desired threshold deviation from the calculated mean whichmay be more or less than one standard deviation from the calculatedmean. Alternatively, the sensitivity trigger may be established at acertain percentage for deviation from the calculated mean. The computer22 continually compares the observed occurrence information to thecalculated mean data to determine if investigation signals are requiredto be communicated to law enforcement and/or security officers. In thisrespect, the computer 22 is engaged in updating activities becomessmarter and more efficient in analyzing risk situations over time.

The intelligent audio/visual observation and identification databasesystem 10 may also be simultaneously coupled to an audio recognitionsystem 48 within a structure or at a guard station or checkpoint 52. Theaudio recognition system 48 may be included within the computer 22.Initially, the audio recognition system 48 comprises a plurality oftransducers as electrically coupled to the computer 22 which has accessto the database 30, which desirably contains stored data representativeof vocal or other sounds, words, patterns of words, and/or phrases. Theaudio recognition system 48 may be an initial supplemental verificationsystem for identification of an individual 56 who is a pedestrian or anoccupant 56 of a vehicle 70. In addition, certain types of vehicles 70may have unique engine or sound characteristics which may be compared topre-recorded sound data to supplement visual identification and/orverification. The audio recognition system 48 may be further coupled toother verification systems for an individual 56 such as fingerprint,palm print, and/or eye scanners as previously disclosed.

The audio recognition system 48 may interpret vocal commands and inputthe commands into the intelligent audio/visual observation andidentification database system 10, which may be in communication withbuilding control systems 64. Thus, the intelligent audio/visualobservation and identification database system 10 may be coupled to theoperational systems for a structure, such as locking systems for doors,lighting systems, air conditioning systems, and/or heating systems.Thus, various building control systems 64 may be activated by authorizedpersonnel through voice recognition of vocal commands through theintelligent audio/visual observation and identification database system10 as received by the transducer and verified with respect to pre-storeddata for the authorized person, or which may be automatically opened oractivated based upon a signal generated by the computer 22 following theaudio recognition of the authorized person, which may have occurred inthe same zone 50 or at a previous checkpoint or verification location.

The intelligent audio/visual observation and identification databasesystem 10 may also be coupled to sensors as disposed about a structure.The system may then build a database 30 with respect to temperaturesensors within specific locations, pressure sensors, motion detectors,phone number identifiers, sound transducers, and/or smoke or firedetectors. Recorded data as received from various sensors may be used tobuild a database 30 for normal parameters and environmental conditionsfor specific zones 50 of a structure for individual periods of time anddates. The computer 22 may continuously receive readings/data fromremote sensors for comparison to the prestored or learned data toidentify discrepancies therebetween. In addition, the filtering,flagging and threshold procedures as earlier identified may besubstantially duplicated with any desired adjustment to assigned pointsor flags for environmental area to indicate a threshold discrepancy tosignal an officer to initiate an investigation. The reassignment ofpriorities and the storage and recognition of the assigned prioritiesoccurs at the computer 22 to automatically recalibrate the assignment ofpoints or flags for further comparison to a profile prior to thetriggering of a signal representative of a threshold discrepancy.

The intelligent audio/visual observation and identification databasesystem 10 may also be coupled to various infrared or ultraviolet sensorsused for security/surveillance within a structure to assist in the earlyidentification of an unauthorized individual 56 within a security zone50 or the presence of an intruder without knowledge of the intruder.

The intelligent audio/visual observation and identification databasesystem 10 as coupled to sensors and/or building control systems 64 for astructure which may be based upon audio, temperature, motion, pressure,phone number identifiers, smoke detectors, fire detectors and firealarms is based upon automatic storage, retrieval and comparison ofobserved/measured data to prerecorded data, in further comparison to thethreshold profile parameters to automatically generate a signal to asurveillance, security, or law enforcement officer.

It is anticipated that the intelligent video/audio observation andidentification database system 10 will track a vehicle 70 satisfying aprofile within the security zone 50 as the vehicle 70 passes from onefield of observation to another as related to individual optical devices12 or other input devices 18. It is further anticipated that theintelligent video/audio observation and identification database system10 will screen, and eliminate from a priority classification vehicles 70having a regular pattern within the security zone 50. A regular patternwithin the security zone 50 will likely be representative of anemployee. Information is stored in the database 30 as related tovehicles 70 driven by employees, and/or employees are preferablyassigned a low priority when searching is implemented in order to morerapidly identify a particular profile and/or classification of vehicles70 or individuals 56 under investigation in the security zone 50.

It is anticipated that a security guard, surveillance individual, and/orguard station 52 will include or have access to a plurality of opticaldevices as positioned adjacent to an entry guard house, and an exit fromthe security zone 50, to monitor the entry and exit of vehicles 70 fortracking purposes. In addition, the intelligent video/audio observationand identification database system 10 will assist a security guard inthe surveillance and/or tracking of a vehicle 70 within a security zone50 where the vehicle 70 is either intentionally and/or inadvertentlypassing into an unauthorized location or zone 50. For example, asecurity guard assigned to an entry may issue a temporary pass andadvise a vehicle 70 to park in Lot B. The optical devices 12 of theintelligent video/audio observation and identification database system10 may then track the vehicle 70 which passes through Lot B andapproaches a restricted area concerning Lot C. The intelligentvideo/audio observation and identification database system 10 may thentrigger a visible, audible, and/or other signal to the law enforcement,surveillance, or security guard as to the unauthorized position of thevehicle 70 having a temporary pass outside of Lot B, whereuponadditional investigation and/or assistance may be initiated to returnthe wayward vehicle 70 to the designed parking area.

The intelligent video/audio observation and identification databasesystem 10 preferably includes a plurality of prerecorded profilesearches which may be selected for initiation by a law enforcement,surveillance, and/or security personnel. The computer 22 of theintelligent video/audio observation and identification database system10 upon identification of a vehicle 70 satisfying the implemented searchprofile will then track the vehicle 70 within individual optical fieldsor input device 12 line of sight, and through adjacent optical fields,to automatically monitor the location of the vehicle 70 within thesecurity zone 50. The original identification of the vehicle 70 subjectto investigation is preferably provided by the computer 22 comparing anobserved vehicle 70 having information assigned from a standardizeddatabase 62, for comparison to the accumulated environmentally specificsecurity zone 50 to identify discrepancies for assessment of risk toindividuals and/or property.

The intelligent video/audio observation and identification databasesystem 10 through the utilization of pre-set profile screening providesto law enforcement, surveillance, and/or security personnel earlywarning as to discrepancies between a vehicle 70/individual 56 andpreviously accessible databases 30, 62 to minimize risk of terroristicactivities. In addition, the intelligent video/audio observation andidentification database system 10 may be customized for real timeprofile screening for the provision of a warning to a law enforcementand/or security individual upon retrieval of a calculated or identifieddiscrepancy between standardized data and observed data within theaccumulated database 30.

It is anticipated that the intelligent video/audio observation andidentification database system 10 at any given time may identify allvehicles 70 and all individuals 56 present within a security zone 50.The computer 22 for the intelligent video/audio observation andidentification database system 10 automatically searches for patternsand deviations from patterns with respect to the accumulated database 30for the triggering of an advisory signal to a law enforcement,surveillance, or security officer to initiate further investigation. Theintelligent video/audio observation and identification database system10 is preferably proactive and is continuously screening and comparingdata being input from the input devices 12, 18 for comparison to thepreviously stored records within the accumulated database 30 to identifypatterns for specific vehicles 70 and/or individuals 56 and to verifyinformation related to the vehicles 70 and individuals 56 occupying thevehicles 70.

A desired number of vehicle 70 contacts and point or flag thresholds forindividuals 56 and/or vehicles 70 may be adjusted to fulfill the levelof security desired within a particular zone 50. During the entireevaluation and storage processing, the computer is recording not onlyimages and data relative to a vehicle 70/individual 56, but alsodesirably recording data related to the sensitivity of the securitylevel to be assigned to the particular vehicle 70 and/or individual 56.In this regard, the computer 22 becomes more intelligent when avariation in previously recognized parameters is not satisfied. Forexample, if a vehicle driver 56 is identified to be different from thetypical driver as defined by a number of previously recorded consistentoccurrences, then a high priority flag or a large number of points maybe assigned to the observed vehicle 70, in real time, to advise asurveillance, security, and/or law enforcement officer to initiate apriority investigation. The computer 22 may store data in tables, andgroup files within set folders having similar priority thresholds. Inthis regard, the computer 22 may implement filters of all files, and/orfolders to screen and organize an ordered search to satisfy a particulardesired profile. Therefore, the longer the intelligent audio/visualobservation and identification database system 10 is utilized within aspecific security zone 50, the more customized the system 10 becomes toaddressing the requirements of the specific zone 50 to provide a desiredlevel of security. In addition, an optical assist system as a portion ofthe intelligent audio/video observation and identification databasesystem 10 may recognize images for processing within a computer toautomatically formulate tables, filters, and/or thresholds for aparticular vehicle 70 within a security zone 50 based upon observed andrecognized patterns without officer input. For example, the computer 22may be programmed to automatically evaluate the number of points, and/orflags to trigger officer intervention based upon the desired numberrepetitive occurrences. In this regard, the system automatically mayestablish customized thresholds, filters, and/or tables for a securityzone 50 minimizing officer input.

The use of pre-stored profile queries in conjunction with manualcustomized queries enhances the performance of the intelligentvideo/audio observation and identification database system 10 forapprehension and deterrence of terrorist acts within a safety zone 50.The use of pre-stored and/or customized profiles expedites the searchingof vehicles 70 and/or facial recognition data by narrowing investigationto priority classifications of individuals 56 and/or vehicles 70. Anygroup of vehicles 70 and/or individuals 56 which have been targeted asfulfilling the requirements of the profile search may then be targetedfor identification of the location of the targeted vehicles 70 due tothe previous tracking features of the intelligent video/audioobservation and identification database system 10. Apprehension effortsare thereby facilitated prior to and following an event.

The intelligent video/audio observation and identification databasesystem 10 includes a vehicle 70 tracking function and software tospecifically identify the location of all vehicles 70 within a securityzone 50. In addition, the intelligent video/audio observation andidentification database system 10 may be coupled to an input device 12,14 integral to a facial recognition system, fingerprint system, palmprint system, and/or voice or handwriting identification system tofacilitate the identification and tracking of individuals 56 and/orvehicles 70 within a security zone 50.

The intelligent audio/visual observation and identification databasesystem 10 is preferably designed to track the presence of all employeeswithin a particular security zone 50. In addition, the computer 22 ofthe intelligent audio/visual observation and identification databasesystem 10 evaluates and compares matters which occurred yesterday, tomatters currently unfolding during today, in conjunction with the use offilters to minimize errors with respect to the identification ofclassifications and/or groups of vehicles 70 or individuals 56 toreceive further investigation. In addition, a particular profile may beestablished for a group of vehicles 70 such as a motorcade. Anadditional filter may search and detect an authorized vehicle 70 withinan observed motorcade. In addition, a processor/controller may searchoptical images observed at a specific checkpoint 52 to identify aparticular group of vehicles 70 such as a motorcade. If any deviation inthe number or type or other factors as related to the group of vehicles70 is detected, then the computer 22 may issue an immediate warningsignal to a surveillance, security, and/or law enforcement officer as tothe necessity for an immediate investigation or warning. In addition, aparticular group of optical devices 12 as in communication with acomputer 22 may recognize the deviation of a group of vehicles 70 from apre-planned or normal travel route to issue an investigation and/orwarning signal to an officer. Generally, the filter sensitivity for thecomputer 22 of the intelligent audio/visual observation andidentification database system 10 will involve one standard deviationfrom the normal data as previously stored for a particular vehicle 70,individual 56, group of vehicles 70, and/or occupants 56 of vehicles 70.Therefore, in the event that observed data for a particular vehicle 70having an identifiable license plate 54 statistically insignificantlydeviates from the prerecorded data, then the computer 22 will not issuea communication to initiate additional investigation into the presenceof the vehicle 70 within the security zone 50. However, in an examplewherein an employee having normal work hours of 8 to 5, Monday throughFriday as recorded data within the database 30 is identified as beingadjacent to a secured area at 3:30 a.m. on a Sunday morning, then thecomputer 22 for the intelligent audio/visual observation andidentification database system 10 will automatically issue a warningsignal to initiate immediate appropriate investigation based upon aweighted signal generated by the computer 22.

The intelligent audio/visual observation and identification databasesystem 10 may be used in conjunction with a government structure such asan embassy. In this example, a plurality of optical recording devices 12may be positioned to observe, identify, and record the passage ofvehicles 70 past the embassy. The intelligent audio/visual observationand identification database system 10 generally creates a file for eachindividual vehicle 70 which passes the embassy. The vehicle 70 licenseplate 54 number, make, model, observed load, and time and date aregenerally stored within the individual vehicle 70 file. The computer 22for the intelligent audio/visual observation and identification databasesystem 10 may separate the data within a particular vehicle file intocategories which may include occurrences which have been observedbetween 12:01 a.m. and 11:59 p.m. as a first category and noon tomidnight as a second category. Any number of time or other confirmedcategories may be established to satisfy the requirements of acustomized application. The computer 22 for the intelligent audio/visualobservation and identification database system 10 will then calculate amean value with respect to time of passage of an embassy for theidentified vehicle 70 within each category, and will further calculatethe mean observed appearance of the vehicle 70 with respect to load.Sensitivity software may be incorporated into the computer 22 for theintelligent audio/visual observation and identification database system10 which is designed to trigger a warning and/or flag in the event thatobserved data exceeds a calculated mean value by a selected percentageor value. For example, if a vehicle 70 is observed to be approaching anembassy at 3:30 in the morning where the calculated mean values for thefirst category are 7:45 a.m. and for the second category 5:45 p.m. thena signal may be communicated to a law enforcement, surveillance, or asecurity officer to trigger heightened security for the embassy. Inaddition, the intelligent audio/visual observation and identificationdatabase system 10 may observe a vehicle 70 approaching an embassy tocompare the observed vehicle 70 appearance with respect to load topre-stored data and/or a pre-calculated observed mean with respect tothe vehicle 70 as related to load. In the event that the vehicle 70appearance exceeds the observed mean value with respect to load, and/orthe standard database value with respect to load, by an amount of fivepercent or more, then a signal will be generated for communication to alaw enforcement, surveillance, and/or security officer to exerciseheightened security measures for the embassy.

The types of applications identified herein is intended as supplementalintelligent information gathering and automatic analysis for use inconjunction with the intelligent audio/visual observation andidentification database system 10 with respect to vehicles 70, occupants56, and/or pedestrians as described herein.

The intelligent audio/visual observation and identification databasesystem 10 may also be a method for identifying security investigationscomprising:

-   -   a) establishing a security zone;    -   b) positioning at least one optical input device to observe the        security zone;    -   c) connecting the optical input devices to a computer;    -   d) observing occurrences within the security zone and        communicating the observed occurrences to the computer;    -   e) storing the observed occurrences within the computer to        create a database for the security zone;    -   f) processing the observed occurrences within the computer as        compared to stored or retrieved data available to the computer;        and    -   g) issuing a signal to a security officer to investigate an        occurrence.

The intelligent audio/visual observation and identification databasesystem 10 may also be an apparatus for identifying a vehicle and likelydriver comprising:

an optical input device;

-   -   a computer;    -   a database containing information;    -   and a display;    -   wherein said computer receives an image of an approaching        vehicle's license plate from said optical input device, said        computer searches said database and identifies information        relevant to the license plate and identifies an expected driver        of the vehicle;    -   and wherein said computer receives an actual driver image of        said vehicle's actual driver from said optical input device,        said computer compares said actual driver image with a        prerecorded image of the expected driver and determines whether        the actual driver image is substantially similar to said        expected driver image.

Enclosed herewith and incorporated by reference herein are the followingU.S. Pat. Nos. 6,400,828; 6,396,954; 6,389,155; 6,181,805; 6,121,898;6,111,671; 6,081,206; 6,072,893; 6,035,053; 6,035,055; 6,035,074;5,948,038; 5,946,417; 5,875,261; 5,831,155; 5,809,161; 5,734,337;5,710,833; 5,568,406; 5,381,155; 5,359,669; 5,182,647; 5,164,992; and4,368,979.

The above disclosure is intended to be illustrative and not exhaustive.This description will suggest many variations and alternatives to one ofordinary skill in this art. All these alternatives and variations areintended to be included within the scope of the claims where the term“comprising” means “including, but not limited to”. Those familiar withthe art may recognize other equivalents to the specific embodimentsdescribed herein which equivalents are also intended to be encompassedby the claims.

Further, the particular features presented in the dependent claims canbe combined with each other in other manners within the scope of theinvention such that the invention should be recognized as alsospecifically directed to other embodiments having any other possiblecombination of the features of the dependent claims. For instance, forpurposes of claim publication, any dependent claim which follows shouldbe taken as alternatively written in a multiple dependent form from allprior claims which possess all antecedents referenced in such dependentclaim if such multiple dependent format is an accepted format within thejurisdiction (e.g. each claim depending directly from claim 1 should bealternatively taken as depending from all previous claims). Injurisdictions where multiple dependent claim formats are restricted, thefollowing dependent claims should each be also taken as alternativelywritten in each singly dependent claim format which creates a dependencyfrom a prior antecedent-possessing claim other than the specific claimlisted in such dependent claim below.

This completes the description of the preferred and alternateembodiments of the invention. Those skilled in the art may recognizeother equivalents to the specific embodiment described herein whichequivalents are intended to be encompassed by the claims attachedhereto.

1. An apparatus for at least one security zone said apparatus comprising: a plurality of optical input devices; at least one computer, said at least one computer being in communication with said plurality of optical input devices, said at least one computer compiling an evolving database, said evolving database comprising individual files representative of at least one individual or object within said at least one security zone; comparison software in communication with said at least one computer and said evolving database; and a display in communication with said at least one computer; wherein said at least one computer is constructed and arranged to process information from said evolving database and information from said at least one security zone for issuance of at least one investigation signal.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising sensitivity software in communication with said at least one computer and said evolving database.
 3. The apparatus of claim 2, further comprising a plurality of computers.
 4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein at least one of said plurality of computers is located within at least one of said at least one security zone.
 5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein said plurality of computers are in communication with each other.
 6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein at least one of said plurality of computers is in communication with at least one external database.
 7. The apparatus of claim 6, each of said plurality of computers comprising an evolving database.
 8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein at least one of said plurality of computers comprises at least one defined profile.
 9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein said at least one defined profile is constructed and arranged as a search query for communication with said evolving database.
 10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein said sensitivity software includes probability analysis software.
 11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein said probability analysis software is in communication with threshold criteria for issuance of said at least one investigation signal.
 12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein said sensitivity software ranks said at least one investigation signal as selected from the group consisting of high priority, intermediate priority, low priority, and normal priority.
 13. An apparatus for at least one security zone said apparatus comprising: a plurality of optical input devices; at least one computer, said at least one computer being in communication with said plurality of optical input devices, said at least one computer compiling an evolving database, said evolving database comprising individual files representative of at least one individual or object within said at least one security zone; sensitivity software in communication with said at least one computer and said evolving database; and a display in communication with said at least one computer; wherein said at least one computer is constructed and arranged to process information from said evolving database with said sensitivity software for issuance of at least one investigation signal.
 14. The apparatus of claim 13, further comprising comparison software in communication with said at least one computer and said evolving database, said sensitivity software comprising probability analysis software, wherein said probability analysis software is in communication with threshold criteria for issuance of said at least one investigation signal.
 15. The apparatus of claim 14, further comprising a plurality of computers, wherein at least one of said plurality of computers is located within at least one of said at least one security zone.
 16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein at least one of said plurality of computers is in communication with at least one external database, at least one of said plurality of computers comprises at least one defined profile, and wherein said at least one defined profile is constructed and arranged as a search query for communication with said evolving database.
 17. An apparatus for at least one security zone said apparatus comprising: a plurality of optical input devices; at least one computer, said at least one computer being in communication with said plurality of optical input devices, said at least one computer compiling an evolving database, said evolving database comprising individual files representative of at least one individual or object within said at least one security zone; comparison software in communication with said at least one computer and said evolving database; sensitivity software in communication with said at least one computer and said evolving database; and a display in communication with said at least one computer; wherein said at least one computer is constructed and arranged to compare information from said evolving database and information from said at least one security zone for issuance of at least one investigation signal.
 18. The apparatus of claim 17, said sensitivity software comprising probability analysis software, wherein said probability analysis software is in communication with threshold criteria for issuance of said at least one investigation signal.
 19. The apparatus of claim 18, further comprising a plurality of computers, wherein at least one of said plurality of computers is located within at least one of said at least one security zone.
 20. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein at least one of said plurality of computers is in communication with at least one external database, at least one of said plurality of computers comprises at least one defined profile, and wherein said at least one defined profile is constructed and arranged as a search query for communication with said evolving database. 